Lebanon, N.H. – May 2, 2022 – Despite international borders opening and COVID severity diminishing, one–out–of three travelers are experiencing travel hesitancy due to the war in Ukraine, the possibility of new coronavirus variants or lingering fears following two years of pandemic-related restrictions, according to the Global Rescue Spring 2022 Traveler Safety and Sentiment Survey.

Seven–out–of 10 (71%) of survey takers are somewhat concerned, concerned or much more concerned, about international travel since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The rest (29%) report they are not concerned at all.

Traveler hesitancy is also coming from anxiety about where to go, or when to get back to travel after two years of pandemic-related travel restrictions. “In January 2021, 55% of respondents said they were more or much more concerned about travel. Today, 45% fewer travelers are expressing travel hesitancy. The recent survey reveals less than a third (30%) of travelers are experiencing re-entry to travel anxiety,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Conversely, the survey revealed 89% of respondents say the war in Ukraine has not changed their travel plans and the overwhelming majority (70%) of travelers are not experiencing any re-entry to travel anxiety. An even larger majority (84%) of survey takers report they are less or much less concerned about travel today compared to the beginning of the pandemic.

“Most travelers (78%) do not consider the threat of future COVID-19 variants significant enough to make them cancel or postpone international travel this year,” Richards said. “More than half of respondents (56%) already have traveled internationally since the pandemic with 35% expecting to travel abroad before the end of the year.”

COVID-19 remains a concern with international travelers, less so for the potential threat of a severe illness and more so due to the possibility of being stranded in a foreign country. According to the survey, 59% of respondents say testing positive for COVID-19 and being stranded away from home is their biggest fear about international travel. Fifteen percent of travelers say producing a negative COVID-19 test to meet U.S. re-entry requirements is their main concern.

About the Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey 

Global Rescue, the leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 1,200 of its current and former members between April 5 and 9, 2022. The respondents exposed a significant range in travel confidence and international travel activity as well as preferences for international travel policies.

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last two decades. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.